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The CIA has concluded in a secret assessment that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to help Donald Trump win the presidency, rather than just to undermine confidence in the U.S. electoral system, according to officials briefed on the matter.

Vladimir Putin, Barack Obama

Andrew Harnik / AP

In this Sept. 28, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama shakes hands with Russian President President Vladimir Putin at United Nations headquarters. Obama has ordered intelligence officials to conduct a broad review on suspected election-season hacking by Russians.

In this Sept. 28, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama shakes hands with Russian President President Vladimir Putin at United Nations headquarters. Obama has ordered intelligence officials to conduct a broad review on suspected election-season hacking by Russians.

Simeon basketball player Evan Gilyard poses for a photograph during practice at the school's gymnasium on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, in Chicago. Gilyard has committed to play for the University of Texas at El Paso.

Simeon basketball player Evan Gilyard poses for a photograph during practice at the school's gymnasium on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016, in Chicago. Gilyard has committed to play for the University of Texas at El Paso.

Trump can scrap trade deals, pick fights with China, push for punitive tariffs and try to force companies to keep plants here. But what he really needs to do is find a way to repeal the laws of economics.

Sports

The Bears can play the role of the ultimate spoiler Sunday against the Lions, who lead the NFC North but face a tough slate to close the season. The future of coach Jim Caldwell remains an important question for the Lions, who reshaped the organization last year by cleaning out the front office...

Rajon Rondo admitted he knew little to nothing about Cristiano Felicio when Rondo signed with the Bulls. "But what I loved about him from day one of summer league is he works," Rondo said. "He's always in the weight room when I'm in the weight room. And I'm in there a lot." It's there, Jimmy Butler...

It's formally called the Senior Community Service Employment Program. But its lofty title and mission — helping unemployed, low-income individuals age 55 and older get temporary jobs and training at nonprofits or government agencies — hasn't shielded the U.S. Department of Labor program from criticism....

Talk about a party foul: Chicago-based MillerCoors was losing more than 1 million barrels of beer per year in sales, a slide that reflected the company's complacency in an increasingly crowded beer industry, according to its chief executive. "You don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out...

The U.S. government says automakers will end up recalling 42 million vehicles with potentially deadly air bag inflators made by Takata Corp. The National Highway Safety Administration released a schedule for further recalls on Friday as it tries to get automakers to move faster on the fixes. Eventually,...

Entertainment

Neil Young remains one of the more compelling of the '60s rock stars because he just doesn't give a hoot about pleasing his fans or recycling his greatest hits. On the contrary, he's been particularly prolific lately, producing good, bad and sometimes just plain weird albums at an astonishing rate...

"What else is annoying in the world besides everything?" Excepting our newly minted president-elect, comedian Jerry Seinfeld — whose net worth is purportedly near a billion dollars — may be the richest man in the country who takes to a stage before a capacity crowd just to complain about how terrible...

In Chicago theater, 2016 was the year of "Hamilton," for sure. But that high-profile attraction — a raiser of all theatrical boats — landed at a moment of rich, diverse and emotional exploration. Here are my 10 best shows of the year, followed by 10 more that should have made the list. I've not...

Life & Style

I noticed a couple of years ago that I'd started getting crow's-feet when I smiled. This year — my 35th — they started stomping around even when I wasn't making a happy face. After discussing Botox with a girlfriend who also can no longer check the 18-34 box, I pondered going under the needle. ...

Of all the cats in the shelter, the big orange tabby with the leaky left eye just might have been the one least likely to get adopted. While kittens frolicked and healthy cats snuggled with enraptured children, the tabby lay in his bed, battling a chronic eye infection. He barely raised his head...

Wilmot Mountain’s long-awaited face-lift opens to skiers Wednesday. The revamped southern Wisconsin ski area, one of the closest downhill spots to Chicago at about 65 miles from the Loop, will unveil $13 million of improvements after a sale early this year to industry heavyweight Vail Resorts. ...

Cynthia and Mike Scholl were at the beginning of a budding romance when they brought Mike's three young kids to see Goodman Theatre's "A Christmas Carol" 25 years ago. The couple met at work, and Cynthia was eager to bond with Mike's children from his first marriage. She had fallen in love with...

Blue Sky

A local printing startup is looking to wrap up some funding from a celebrity investor, taking its customized gift tissue paper to ABC's "Shark Tank" for an episode airing Friday night. Glendale Heights-based Digiwrap allows customers to design and order custom tissue paper and gift bags online....

Grubhub rode its cravings from a New Venture Challenge win in 2006 to a public company with a market cap of $3.3B. Led by CEO Matt Maloney ⇒, who tangled with Donald Trump supporters last month, the company recently did an office revamp that leaves it room to grow. Wesley Barker, senior workplace...

Your bathroom mirror will soon show more than your reflection as you get ready for the day. Chicago startup Glance Displays has created an $1,800 smart mirror with a heads-up display to help you keep track of your schedule, your commute and whether to bring an umbrella — all while you shave, brush...

Swap.com, the Bolingbrook-based online consignment store, has raised $20 million, it announced Thursday. It lets users buy and sell gently used clothes and other goods and, with the new funding, aims to increase inventory and staff to take over more of the online secondhand market. The lead investor...

Most read stories this hour

Jessie Grady walked into a Michaels store last week in Chicago to buy a Santa hat for her young daughter. She ended up witnessing — and filming — another customer's "unprovoked attack" in which the woman unloaded on black Michaels employees, claiming she was being discriminated against and declaring...

An undercover sting on Chicago's Southwest Side ended in a hail of bullets after two reputed gang members opened fire after handing over three handguns in exchange for $1,500 from an undercover informant, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday. The joint operation by the FBI and Chicago police...

President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Department of Education drew fire Wednesday from Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis. Lewis said Betsy DeVos, an advocate for privately run charter schools and school vouchers, would seek to expand policies that have "been proven to...

As lawmakers prepare to wrap up the fall session, Exelon and ComEd on Wednesday announced an agreement with Gov. Bruce Rauner to raise rates on consumers to help two struggling nuclear power plants. The last-minute attempt to resolve the long-festering electricity issue came on a day the Republican...

In persuading Carrier to keep hundreds of jobs in Indiana, President-elect Donald Trump is claiming victory on behalf of factory workers whose positions were bound for Mexico. But the scant details that have emerged so far raise doubts about the extent of the victory. By enabling Carrier's Indianapolis...

The pilot of the chartered plane carrying a Brazilian soccer team told air traffic controllers he had run out of fuel and desperately pleaded for permission to land before crashing into the Andes, according to a leaked recording of the final minutes of the doomed flight. In the sometimes chaotic...

When people start throwing Nazi salutes in public, it has a way of clarifying where everybody stands. The loosely defined “alt-right” movement — made up of social-media-savvy white supremacists, neo-Nazis, anti-Semites, misogynists and other fringe figures who supported Donald Trump’s election...

While we're still analyzing the election results and debating the importance of different factors to the final outcome, everyone agrees that white working-class voters played a key part in Donald Trump's victory, in some cases by switching their votes and in some cases by turning out when they...

"Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind," one of the longest running shows in Chicago history and a fixture at the Neo-Futurarium in Andersonville, is to close Dec. 31. The comedic, sketch-style production, which has played since 1988, has reached thousands of audience members and is known for...

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and legislative leaders are set to resume budget talks again Thursday morning as a stopgap spending plan is set to expire at year's end, and the governor is laying out his terms before the meeting even begins.Facing continued resistance from Democratic House Speaker...

Even for the scion of a billionaire family, Todd Ricketts has had an eclectic career — trader in a securities industry startup, part-owner of the Chicago Cubs, proprietor of a suburban bike shop and even guest star on a reality show. But through it all, Ricketts has maintained unwavering devotion...

At long last, rain fell on the scorched Appalachian town of Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Wednesday after savage wildfires blazed across eastern Tennessee, killing seven people, forcing thousands to evacuate and burning hundreds of homes to the ground. Yet even as rainstorms helped firefighters douse the...

The addition of center fielder Jon Jay makes general manager Jed Hoyer even more confident about a Cubs lineup that will mark the return of slugger Kyle Schwarber in 2017. "From an offensive standpoint we feel very good about our group," Hoyer said Wednesday during a conference call. Nevertheless,...

Two construction workers who were found dead at an unfinished townhouse they were working on in Lockport this week each suffered a fatal gunshot wound, the Will County Coroner's office said. Following an autopsy Wednesday, the office identified the men as brothers Marco Ceja-Sanchez, 37, and David...

Baseball players and owners reached a tentative agreement on a five-year labor contract Wednesday night, a deal that will extend the sport's industrial peace to 26 years since the ruinous fights in the first two decades of free agency. After days of near round-the-clock talks, negotiators reached...

It is a familiar scenario: Team loses a close game; coach criticizes officials; coach is fined for criticizing officials. It happened again Saturday when Michigan Coach Jim Harbaugh went on at length Saturday after his team's double-overtime loss to Ohio State about several calls he thought were...

When George W. Bush assembled his first cabinet in 2001, news reports dubbed them a team of millionaires, and government watchdogs questioned whether they were out of touch with most Americans' problems. Combined, that group had an inflation-adjusted net worth of about $250 million - which is roughly...

The Tribune's Brad Biggs answers your questions weekly. Any word if Deiondre' Hall will be back on the field this year? -- @stephenclapp1 Yes, I think there is a chance Hall gets back on the field. It might not happen this week. Hall returned to practice last week after sitting out the previous...

The judge in the murder trial of a white former patrolman who fatally shot a black motorist decided Wednesday to let the jury consider a lesser charge of manslaughter, meaning prosecutors won't have to prove the officer acted out of malice when he shot the fleeing man in the back. Michael Slager...

The opening scene in the third episode of Netflix's new "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" features Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and her daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel) sitting by a pool in Stars Hollow, doing their usual quick banter. But the snappy dialogue turns obnoxious as they start mocking their...

Ronald Reagan was president when Michael Madigan, a Democrat, became speaker of the Illinois House in 1983. Reagan served two terms and died in 2004, and his name adorns schools, roads, parks and an airport. A generation has passed since he left the White House. And Madigan? He is still speaker,...

The golden Moutza of November is at hand. Yet some are worried that certain Castro-praising liberals who didn't even bother voting for a moutza will begin to whine, then blame everyone but themselves, and loudly demand a recount. "Will there be a recount after the column is published?" asked Patrick...

Two men were killed and at least six others have been wounded from Wednesday afternoon to early Thursday in shootings across the city, Chicago police said. The most recent fatal shooting was on the West Side just after 1:15 a.m. Thursday. Marqual Bailey, 19, was found unresponsive in East Garfield...

'I wouldn't call myself a survivalist, just a realist," says "Craig," a financial analyst in Cincinnati. In his 30s, with a wife and baby, Craig keeps a cache of supplies in his basement: magnesium flint sticks for fire-starting, lightweight water filters, rechargeable flashlights, a portable 12-volt...

The Chicago Police Department, which had been preparing for a visit later this week by President-elect Donald Trump, has been told the trip is off for now, sources said Wednesday afternoon. The Trump camp never did confirm such plans, but sources had told the Tribune that Chicago police were working...